The Burford Bridge Hotel stands in a picturesque location, yet only 10 minutes from junction 9 of the M25. The reception area is light and breezy, and service was swift if a little impersonal. The hotel seemed somewhat quiet for a valentine’s weekend, but this suited us perfectly. The lounge and bar areas are very homely with plenty of little corners to hide in. The menu was imaginative and the food well presented, if slightly pretentious and lacking in substance for our liking. Don’t get me wrong, it was of a very high standard and great for a special occasion, but at £27 for two courses and £32 for three I would have expected to come away not feeling hungry, which unfortunately my boyfriend did. One plus point of this experience was our friendly and extremely attentive waitress.

Some parts of the hotel date back to the 13th century, and although there’s the expected creaky floorboards, the room was very modern. It was well appointed with the usual amenities (toiletries/shower cap/tea/coffee/hairdryer/iron/shoe polish/mini bar etc etc), and although quite small had an extremely comfortable bed. The bathroom was spotless and a reasonable size. A bonus to this hotel was the outside pool area, which is just as pretty as seen on the hotel’s website. Obviously on a cold day in February we didn’t take the plunge, but I can imagine in summer it’s a great place to relax. We booked direct with the hotels website and paid £89 for a classic double room excluding breakfast, which would have been a further £15.95 each.

The hotel lies at the foot of Box Hill, an area looked after by The National Trust and full of natural beauty. Please don’t be fooled by the term ‘hill’. This huge, hunk of a mini-mountain is a haven for the energetic rambler, littered with folk brandishing professional poles and walking boots. Whilst I consider myself a reasonably healthy 28 year old, I found the climb up to be challenging, and became slightly disheartened after being overtaken by pensioners who weren’t even breaking into a sweat! That said, once at the top the views of the surrounding countryside and vineyards are well worth the effort. And if you don’t fancy the walk, you can drive up to the top, something my boyfriend ‘conveniently’ forgot to mention…

Just slightly further down from this hotel is Denbies Vineyard. They run informative tours around the vineyard on a little train throughout the year, and have a great shop where you can buy their wines, along with other produce from the region. The impressive Gallery Restaurant offers magnificent views over the rolling hills, and the food here was of a higher standard in my opinion that the hotel. Well worth a visit.

One last small mention is for Rykers Cafe, a popular local hangout for bikers (the nice sociable kind, not the big hairy kind) situated next to the hotel. If you're into motorcycles (we're not) this would be a bonus. If like us they just don't float your boat, apart from the odd roar of an engine, the cafe isn't a nuisance but instead an added benefit for a junk food fix.